Boris Johnson today ruled out a return to the Commons before the 2015 general election, in a rebuff to senior Tories who want him to make an early comeback.

The London Mayor insisted he had too much to do running the capital and would not abandon it to become an MP.

He was also forced to play down claims of a rift with Chancellor George Osborne, insisting they have a ‘very, very good working relationship’.

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London Mayor Boris Johnson insisted he would not enter the Commons before 2015

A major Conservative row erupted after it was reported on Saturday that David Cameron and Mr Osborne were trying to persuade him to stand in 2015 so that he is fully bound in to the general election result.

Yesterday allies of the Mayor's insisted it was 'bull****' that the Chancellor had already personally delivered him a message saying that he should attempt to return to the Commons next year.

But challenged on the issue today, Mr Johnson insisted he would not take a Commons seat next year because he was too excited by major infrastructure projects, including tunnelling under the Hammersmith fly-over.

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Taking questions on LBC 97.3, he was
asked: ‘You are not going into the Commons prior to 2015 because of the
excitement of the Hammersmith fly under?’

Mr Johnson replied: ‘Correct.’

LBC host Nick Ferrari asked again: ‘You are not going in, so despite George Osborne’s entreaties, the answer is no?’

Mr
Johnson insisted: ‘The answer is I am sticking to my job I was elected
to do in 2012, and in 2008, and I have a very great privilege to be
here.’

Chancellor George Osborne reportedly approached Mr Johnson about becoming an MP earlier, but Mr Johnson has rejected the plea

Senior Tories had opposed the idea of Mr Johnson making an early return to the Commons, because it would put him in prime position to challenge for leader if the Tories fail to win an overall majority under Mr Cameron.

However, allies of the Prime Minister hatched a plan to urge Mr Johnson to stand in 2015 – if not before - so that he was bound into the result. If the Tories lost, he would not be able to claim he was not responsible.

Yesterday, an ally of the Mayor told the Mail on Sunday that he believed Mr Osborne, who is also tipped as a future Tory leader, was responsible for trying to 'destabilise Boris'.

'This is nothing to do with party loyalty and everything to do with Osborne and Cameron trying to destabilise Boris. He saw it coming a mile off.

'They want to make sure that if the Tories lose, Boris gets as much flak as they do and can't stand as leader as a break with the failed Cameron-Osborne regime,' the source was quoted as saying.

Mr Johnson gulped down his drink from a mug as he came under pressure over his leadership ambitions

Today Mr Johnson played down talk of a rift with Mr Osborne. ‘I said many things to my friend George,’ he said.

He claimed he was ‘most surprised’ by the weekend’s headlines. ‘What I talk about with George is how to move the London economy.

‘George
and I have a good working relationship and indeed an old friendship and
what we both want to do is get David Cameron re-elected. That is the
project about which we are united.’

He insisted he wanted to remain as London Mayor to oversee projects like the replacement of the Hammersmith fly-over

Mr Johnson had been seen as a frontrunner to be the next Tory leader, but the dramatic improvement in the economy has seen Mr Osborne’s stock rise.

The public jostling for position has been condemned by some Conservatives. Rebel MP Mark Pritchard wrote on Twitter: 'Inside and outside of Parliament people are fed up of Old Etonians thinking they can pass on Number Ten like some sort of plaything or baton.’

Tory party chairman Grant Shapps insisted Mr Johnson should play a major role in the general election campaign, whatever his intentions on a return to Parliament.

'Boris is a guy who is able to communicate incredibly well and it would be crazy for him not to be part of the 2015 message,' he told BBC1’s Andrew Marr programme.

'We all think Boris is a fantastic London Mayor and he's got a lot to offer. He's doing a brilliant job in London; his term runs till 2016, so he's got a little way to go, but no doubt he'll have many things to offer. What Boris does is up to Boris.'